"Me and Mrs. Jones" is a warm, quirky, and sexy romantic comedy. It could have been great, a classic, but it's merely good. That's better than bad! Liam Marple (Robson Green), a shiftless, conscience-free, tabloid newspaper hack, meets and falls in love with Laura Bowden, England's troubled female Prime Minister (Caroline Goodall). Their romance is destined, as the PM says, to "end in tears," and the script's twists and turns kept me guessing as to whether the leads would get together or not.
Viewers of Hollywood movies assume right up front that romantic comedy leads end up together, but this is a British movie, and the Brits gave the world boiled beef and soggy vegetables, and they are not afraid to tack a tear jerker ending onto a romance; that's certainly happened in Masterpiece Theater before. So ... you really can't be sure till the final frame what will happen.
Whatever charisma is, Robson Green has it. You can't take your eyes off of him. I can't nail down what it is -- in some shots he looks hideous, while in others, he looks matinée-idol, or romance-novel-cover-model, handsome. He's always compelling.
Some viewers said that the film seemed "unbelievable." I beg to differ. "Me and Mrs. Jones" is worth watching for a scene, early on, where Liam asks Laura to dance. The heat they generate while dancing is remarkable. And neither is much of a dancer. It's entirely believable that any woman with a pulse, finding such powerful chemistry in the arms of a stranger, would take great risks to pursue the relationship.
Caroline Goodall, though, was never believable to me as the Prime Minister. She did not convey power, competence, or passion for a cause. Rather, she appeared afraid, coquettish, or snippy, by turns. She would make a great career woman, but this isn't a career woman; it's a leader of the free world.
Oh, for a performance such as Katherine Hepburn was able to give -- to convey power, passion for a cause, and sexiness, all at the same time. Or Audrey Hepburn, in, for example, "The Nun's Story," or Rosalind Russell, in "His Girl Friday." Too, the script is a bit muddled. Any movie with three separate endings is going on too long and not doing so very gracefully.
For all its imperfections, though, "Me and Mrs. Jones" is worth viewing for romantic comedy fans. The dance scene between Robson Green and Caroline Goodall alone is worth several viewings.
